Tech innovation has been moving at a steady, predictable speed for 2.8 million years, no matter which human species was around.
March 19, 2026
Original Paper
A Super-Invention Taxonomy Extended to Genus Homo: Quantitative Hierarchical Analysis of Creative Output Across ~2.8 Million Years, Ending at the Sapiens-Only Transition (~41,500 BCE)
SSRN · 6331579
The Takeaway
We often view 'innovation' as a uniquely modern or Sapiens-driven trait. This quantitative analysis reveals that extinct ancestors like Homo erectus were contributing to a single, continuous trajectory of 'super-inventions' long before modern humans even existed.
From the abstract
<p><span>This working paper extends the author’s previously published Linnaean-style taxonomic model of humankind’s creative output — now termed super-inventions — across the genus <i>Homo</i>. Using strict criteria (durable, massively used, man-made opportunities delivering significant quality improvement over baseline), we classify super-inventions and classes of super-inventions produced by all members of the genus <i>Homo</i> from the point when members of the genus <i>Homo</i> became tool-m